Margot Duhalde, Free French pilot, has died

Margot Duhalde, the only woman to join the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (FAFL, Free French Air Force), passed away on 5 February 2018 in Santiago de Chili. Born in 1920, she was of French origin and became a pilot in 1938.

Following de Gaulle’s call, she joined the FAFL in March 1941 but was not allowed to enter combat. She became a pilot for the RAF’s Air Transport Auxiliary, ferrying new and repaired planes to frontline units. She made over 1,300 such flights, on more than 100 types of aircraft.